Sports Digest | Singh used deer-antler spray

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Vijay Singh has admitted he used deer-antler spray, saying he wasn't aware that it may contain a substance banned by the U.S. PGA Tour.

The 49-year-old Fijian first revealed he used the spray in an interview with Sports Illustrated. The magazine said Singh paid one of Sports With Alternatives To Steroids' owners $9,000 last November for the spray, hologram chips and other products.

The magazine also reported Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis sought help from SWATS in his recovery from a torn right triceps. The company says its deer-antler substance contains a banned performance-enhancer connected to human growth hormone.

BASEBALL

Marcum signs with Mets

NEW YORK - Shaun Marcum was excited to sign with the New York Mets because they offered him an opportunity to pitch every five days. As for replacing R.A. Dickey, that will take a team effort.

Marcum said during a conference call his goal is to pitch "200-plus innings." The oft-injured right-hander has reached that mark only once in his six seasons in the majors.

Marcum's one-year contract will pay him $4 million. He can earn $2.25 million in performance bonuses and $1.75 million in roster bonuses.

? Jose Contreras: The 41-year-old right-hander received a rousing welcome in his return to Cuba 10 years after defecting.

The pitcher, a free agent, is the first athlete to take advantage of a new migratory law that makes it easier for defectors who have long been considered traitors to visit their homeland.

Dissident Roman Catholic activist Dagoberto Valdes said Contreras received a hero's welcome in the western city of Pinar del Rio.

Contreras walked away while playing for Cuba in Mexico in 2002 and was signed by the New York Yankees. He has also played for the Chicago White Sox, Colorado and Philadelphia.

PENN STATE CASE

Sandusky retrial bid rejected

HARRISBURG, Pa. - Jerry Sandusky lost a bid for a new trial when a judge rejected his argument that his lawyers were not given enough time to prepare for the three-week proceeding, which ended with a 45-count guilty verdict on child sex abuse charges.

Judge John Cleland's 27-page order said attorneys for the former Penn State assistant football coach conceded that their post-trial review turned up no material that would have changed their trial strategy.

CYCLING

Schleck punished, to miss Tour

BRUSSELS - Cyclist Frank Schleck was suspended for a year and will miss the Tour de France for using a banned substance on last year's Tour.

Luxembourg anti-doping authorities backdated the suspension, sidelining Schleck until July 14, when the Tour enters its last week.

Schleck, 32, who finished third in the 2011 Tour, dropped out of the race last year after testing positive for the diuretic Xipamide.

"The decision to suspend me one year is too severe considering the fact that the council acknowledged that I unintentionally consumed a contaminated product," he said in a statement.

? Armstrong case: The International Cycling Union did all it could to stall its doping investigation into Lance Armstrong, U.S. Anti-Doping Agency chief executive Travis Tygart said.

"At every turn, the UCI attempted to obstruct our efforts to reveal the truth," Tygart told a special hearing of the Bundestag sports committee.

Tygart said the UCI's actions highlighted the need for doping agencies to have "true independence" to avoid any conflicts of interest arising from running the sport.

USADA fulfills its duties to catch drug cheats because "it does not have a conflicting duty to also protect the image of the sport it serves, or of commercial factors such as obligations to sponsors, owners or investors," he said. "I was shocked that (sporting) federations here still handle doping cases. It's what we call the fox guarding the hen house."

TENNIS

Stephens heads Fed Cup team

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - Sloane Stephens will lead the U.S. Fed Cup team that is without the Williams sisters for the World Group first-round match against Italy on Feb. 9-10.